title: Status, influences and risk assessment of hexachlorocyclohexanes in agricultural soils across china.
abstract: Large amounts of hexaclorocyclohexanes (HCHs) were historically applied to Chinese soils. However, there has been limited information on the residue patterns of HCHs in soils at a national scale in China. In this study, surface soil samples were collected from agricultural fields across China, and the concentrations of HCHs and enantiomeric fractions (EFs) of α-HCH were measured. The results showed that the average concentrations of α-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH, and total HCHs in Chinese agricultural soils were 0.190, 1.31, 0.236, and 1.74 ng g(-1), respectively. Residues of HCHs likely originated from past usage of technical HCHs. The isomers of α-HCH and γ-HCH tended to accumulate in the sites with lower total HCH concentrations, lower temperature, higher elevation, and less wet precipitation when compared to β-HCH. Enantiomeric analysis showed a preferential degradation of (-)-α-HCH. Human health risks via various exposure routes to HCHs in soils were further estimated. Overall, the mean hazard index (HI) linked to noncarcinogenic risks was below 1, suggesting an absence of noncarcinogenic risks of HCHs in Chinese soils. In addition, the cancer risk values were all below 10(-4), which indicates low or very low risks.
authors.affiliation: International Joint Research Center for Persistent Toxic Substances (IJRC-PTS), MOE Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Ecosystem Health, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University , Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Yijun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Fangxing
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Mengling
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Weiping
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D002681:China; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D001556:Hexachlorocyclohexane / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D062206:Spatial Analysis; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D012989:Soil Pollutants; C040534:alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane; D001556:Hexachlorocyclohexane; C023888:beta-hexachlorocyclohexane